Scotty Morrow, arms extended to his side, eyes open to the
heavens, seemed at peace with his fate. Appeals exhausted, clemency denied,
Morrow was just moments from death, and at 9:38 p.m. he became the first person
executed by the state of Georgia this year.
His final words were contrite, his delivery, composed. The
52-year-old Gainesville man first addressed the relatives of the two women he
killed nearly a quarter-century ago.
“I would like to give
my deepest and sincerest apology to the Woods family and to the Young family,”
he said.
The father of two and grandfather of four said in his
petition for clemency that he thought every day about what happened on Dec. 29,
1994.
Spurned over the phone by his ex-girlfriend, Barbara Ann
Young, Morrow drove to her house and fatally shot her and her friend, Tonya
Woods. He shot a third woman in the face and arm but she survived. The murders
were witnessed by Young’s 5-year-old son.
“I’m truly sorry for all that happened,” Morrow said,
strapped down on a gurney inside a small room toward the rear of the Georgia
Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
“I hope that you all recover and have healing,” he said to
the roughly 20 people who observed his execution.
Morrow also thanked his family for their support and asked
for their forgiveness.
“I love you all. God bless,” he said.
An imam gave the final prayer, telling Morrow he loved him.
At 9:26 p.m., prison Warden Benjamin Ford left the small
room, signaling the injection of a lethal dose of anesthetic.
One woman in a white dress, sitting alone on the wooden pews
facing Morrow, shook noticeably, holding back tears.
At 9:28 p.m., Morrow’s chest heaved, tilting his head to the
right. One minute later, he yawned.
Then, stillness.
At 9:37 p.m. two doctors entered the room, checking Morrow’s
vitals. One nodded to the warden, who announced Morrow’s death. Morrow is the
73rd person executed by the state since the death penalty was reinstated in
1976, and the 50th by lethal injection.
“Tonight, justice was
carried out for the families of Tonya Woods and Barbara Ann Young and the
injured LaToya Horne,” said Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh, who
witnessed the execution. “Twenty years ago, I stood in front of a jury and
asked them for the sentence of death finally imposed. It was indeed a profound
experience to witness the execution for which I had asked, but it was important
I be present.”
The U.S. Supreme Court had denied Morrow's final appeal to
stay the execution at about 9 p.m. Thursday, two and a half hours after his
defense team petitioned the nation's highest court.
Morrow was denied clemency Wednesday by the state Board of
Pardons and Paroles. His attorneys argued that unplanned crimes of passion,
such as the ones Morrow was convicted of, are rarely punished by death.
They also pointed out that jurors in Morrow’s murder trial
heard little about his traumatic childhood.
At age 3, Morrow watched his father stomp on his pregnant
mother’s abdomen, causing her to miscarry. Mother and son eventually fled to a
relative’s home but found no solace. That relative started raping Morrow when
he was 7, his attorneys said. Another relative raped him one year later. Later,
after moving to New York, Morrow was beaten repeatedly by his mother’s new
boyfriend, according to his clemency petition.
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